I Purchased ThisHey everyone! I hope you had a wonderful time during the holidays with your family! I wanted to share my thoughts on Cirque Colors Rose Quartz Nail Polish that I bought during Black Friday. I was growing out my nails for my wedding and during the process I started getting back into nail polish. I'd been following Cirque for a while but never bought anything so Black Friday seemed like perfect timing.

Cirque Rose Quartz. This is described as a "sheer milky pink nail polish with sparkling holographic flakes". Cirque says this is opaque in 2-3 coats. I have a longer free edge so I find it's mostly opaque at three coats due to the sheer formula, it'd probably be look more opaque if you have a shorter nail. The holographic flakes add a wonderful depth but some of the larger flakes don't always lay flat so you might need to use the brush to encourage it to lay down. The nail polish does dry semi matte so it benefits from a top coat to add back the shine.It's a thin formula that levels fairly well, I also get excellent wear time from it but I tend to with my longer nails.I will admit that I didn't realize how much smaller the bottle is compared to other brands. Cirque doesn't list the size on their website (unless I'm not looking in the right place) so I assumed it was 15 mL/0.5 oz like most brands. It's actually about 3/4ths the size of your usual nail polish bottle (11 mL/0.37 oz). Regardless, it's a beautiful formula and I've already worn it for several weeks straight.The polish is $12.00 from Cirque Colors. They do have other vendors if you don't want to buy directly from their website.

First off, Happy Halloween! I hope you have a wonderful time if you're celebrating the holiday.It's that time of the year again for The Makeup Show LA! This trade show open for professionals and aspiring artists working/studying in the beauty, hair, fashion, and photography industry. Credentials are required. The show is from November 10th - November 11th.

Advance ticket rates are one day tickets for $45.00 and two day tickets for $62.00. Ticket prices at the door are $55.00 for one day tickets and $72.00 for two day tickets.

The entire list of keynotes, workshops, and seminars are available online but here are some highlights of ones that I find really interesting. The keynotes and seminars are included in your ticket while the All Day Hands on Workshops are extra and allow for a more intimate learning opportunity. I also love that there are workshops in Spanish to meet the needs of the industry.

All Day Workshops
Friday November 9 features three hands on workshops only, the show itself does not start until November 10th. November 10th and 11th mixes in workshops, keynotes, and seminars within the trade show.The workshops require you to bring their own brush set and the cost is in addition to your ticket price.Some workshops available are

The Perfect Bride: Friday November 09 from 10:00am - 6:00pm with Bethany Townes. $300.00. This workshop is for those interested in learning about and perfecting bridal makeup artistry.

Elementos Esenciales del Maquillaje: Friday November 09 from 10:00AM - 6:00pm with Paloma Romo. $300.00. This workshop is an introduction to the professional makeup artistry. It focuses on all aspects of makeup application and be able to practice their techniques. This workshop will be conducted in Spanish.

Red Carpet Beauty and Beyond: Saturday November 10 from 1:30pm - 4:30 pm from Yvonne MacInnis $140.00. This workshop is focused on special event makeup and the art of having makeup be long lasting while looking good on camera and in person.

Beautiful Skin of Color: Sunday November 11 from 1:00pm - 4:00pm with Danessa Myricks. $140.00. This workshop provides education on the skills needed to work on different skintones and complexion, foundation matching, color matching, and overall how to meet the needs of clients of color.

Keynotes
There are many keynotes available during the show, here are a few that I thought looked particularly interesting

Beauty Mark: Making An Impact in Artistry: Saturday November 10 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm with Miss Fame.

There are over 75 brands attending the show giving you the opportunity to try out many brands you might only be able to find online. Here are some picks: Ardell Lashes, Besame Cosmetics, Bioderma, Danessa Myricks Beauty, Hakuhodo, Hourglass, Miss Fame Beauty, and Smith Cosmetics

Icon GalleryIn honor of Maurice Stein, founder of Cinema Secrets and a formidable makeup artist in his own right, The Makeup Show LA will have a gallery of his work from different periods in his life.

Shopping HourOn Sunday November 11 from 9:00am - 10:30am, The Makeup Show will be having a "First Look" viewing and doorbuster pricing from the exhibitors! Brands will be having a special deal so it's worth checking out each booth on Sunday!

Talent CastingThe Makeup Show will be hosting its first ever talent casting for The Look: All Stars. The Look: All Stars is a reality competition TV Show where makeup artists, fashion stylists, and hairstylists work together to create makeovers. The show premiered last year and they are looking for more talent for the next season! The casting is both on Saturday November 10th and Sunday November 11th from 11am to 4pm. If interested, attendees are required to bring their bio, headshots, and portfolio showcasing their work to the lounge area of the show.I'll be attending the show on Saturday November 10th because the next day I'm getting married!!! I hope you have a great time if you're able to attend the show.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!I've bought a lot of single eyeshadows recently and wanted to share photos of my haul and some thoughts on eyeshadow palettes.When it comes to eyeshadow palettes, I've been feeling both overwhelmed by the sheer quantity yet underwhelmed feeling like so many are repeats or follow the same "neutrals with a pop" theme. People's expectations about eyeshadow palettes and its usability seems to have changed over time. Nowadays it feels like people expect a palette to create a complete look but its inevitably a flawed thought when the idea of a "complete" look requires a brow bone highlight and midtone neutral brown for the crease and that usually means you'll have a lot of repetition across brands or colors that might not suit many skintones. Looking at recent palette launches made me realize that I was tempted by one or two eyeshadows but I can't rationalize buying the palettes for those few colors. These thoughts combined with looking at this wonderful curated palette of singles on MakeupAddiction reminded me that single eyeshadows do exist which inspired me to try to create an Everyday Singles Palette. This type of palette is something that can change depending on my tastes but can still be a core collection of products. I'm not new to single eyeshadows, especially single eyeshadows that come in pan form but they definitely fell by the wayside over time. Here are the single eyeshadows I purchased from Coloured Raine (today the 8th is the last day for their 30% off sale!) and Colourpop.

I started off wanting to dupe EBB, the olive green from the Colourpop Good Sport palette and came across Coloured Raine's Side of Olives and ordered a few shades. I then ordered a few Colourpop shades from that palette I saw on MakeupAddiction and ended up with an empty refillable palette. In total, I got ten single eyeshadows from Colourpop and seven eyeshadows form Coloured Raine. Combined with my previous collection of eyeshadow singles, I'm able to create a collection that suits me and my makeup needs for now.First Row: Colourpop Bel Air, Glass Bull, Labyrinth, Lay Low, Made to LastSecond Row: Colourpop Paper Tiger, Pretty Cruel, Snake Eyes, Team Captain, Wake Up CallThird Row: Coloured Raine Downtown, Glamour, Gingerbread, Moments, Native, Side of Olives, Unbothered

I'm still in the process of curating my Everyday Singles Palette but I'm happy with what I have added to my collection so far.If you want to build your collection of single eyeshadows, here are some brands to look at: Coloured Raine, Colourpop, Inglot, MAC, Makeup Geek, Nabla (haven't tried yet), Sugarpill, SydneyGraceCo (haven't tried yet)If you need a resource for an empty palette: Book of Shadows (haven't tried yet), Colourpop, MAC, SauceboxBy no means am I deluding myself into thinking I will never buy another eyeshadow palette again but I do feel like I'll be able to think more critically and figure out whether the palette contains colors I will actually wear vs. colors I want to have in my collection.

Do you like to use single eyeshadows? Are there any palettes you find to be interesting so far?

Disclaimer: I purchased the eyeshadows and palette myself. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated by any of the brands mentioned. The post contains affiliate links which provide me with a commission based off your use of the link when making a purchase.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review of the Colourpop Brow Boss Gel in Soft Black. Colourpop has been expanding their brow range over the years, coming out with different brow pencils and brow pomades but they only had a clear brow gel for the longest time. Now they finally listened to consumers and released colored versions of their Brow Boss Gel. I love a good brow gel and given that they made one in the shade Soft Black, I was down to try it.Given that the original Brow Boss Gel sounded like a dupe to Glossier's Boy Brow, I decided to compare it to the Boy Brow in Black and see how similar it really was.

Click through to see my review, see swatches, and a comparison of both!

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I'm going to be talking about the Revolution x The Emily Edit The Wants Eyeshadow Palette. I'm not even sure where I should start because I have so many feelings about this eyeshadow palette. EmilyNoel83 is a Youtuber I have been watching for years; she's a brilliant speaker, thorough reviewer, and has such an amazing work ethic. She's someone who's not afraid to speak her mind and tell you when something is not worth it and she's still a positive light in the community. She collaborated with Makeup Revolution for two palettes, an eyeshadow palette (The Wants) and an eye and face palette (The Needs).

This palette looked wonderful and I'm always happy to get an opportunity to support someone who I've enjoyed watching the community. However, there is something that's coming up that's important to know before buying.Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and my warning before purchasing.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review of the BH Cosmetics x ItsMyRayeRaye Palette. This palette isn't a new release, launching about a year ago but I wasn't really tempted until I saw Nisipisa do a travel makeup look with this palette. After that, I saw it on sale at my local ULTA for 50% off so I figured it was a sign to try it.

I've only owned one BH Cosmetics palette before (their Foil Eyes palette) and none of the mattes so I wasn't sure what to expect. Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and more photos!

GiftAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review on the Bite Beauty French Press Lip Gloss in Dirty Chai. Though I'm not a coffee person, I can still appreciate the theme and fresh look behind the glosses. I saw swatches of the glosses online and really wanted to get Dirty Chai. I ended up getting it for my birthday and wanted to share my thoughts on the limited edition gloss before it went away.

I Purchased ThisHey everyone!It's been a little while since I posted on the blog but I do have an explanation! I got my eyebrows microbladed and wanted to wait until my brows healed before taking any photos for the blog. I also went on vacation to see my family in France so I wasn't able to blog while overseas. I am back and I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things with more reviews/looks.I hope you enjoy today's post, a review of the Darling Girl Glitter Potion Lip Toppers. Unlike brands that are marketing lipglosses as lip toppers (here's looking at you Jouer), these are actually water-based lip toppers meant to add glitter/shine to your favorite liquid lipsticks (without breaking them down). Though I don't always wear glitter in my everyday makeup, I still love the idea behind adding a little glitter to my lip products.

These could be a dupe for Lime Crime's Diamond Toppers or Urban Decay's Vice Special Effects Long-Lasting Water-Resistant Lip Topcoats, though I can't say if they're 100% identical since I haven't tried either. Regardless, I love finding a possible indie alternative to a mainstream product.I got three colors in Charmed, Divine, and Ritual. There are eleven colors in total. Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and photos of each color when worn.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!I'll admit, I'm someone who loves owning high end/luxury makeup but my inner voice still struggles with actually exchanging that amount of money for the goods. Whenever I do decide to get something high-end/luxury, the process ends up being finding a product, ruminating over it for a period of time, before finally purchasing it. The latest brand I started looking at was Tom Ford. Everything about Tom Ford products screams "luxury" (with a hint of inaccessibility). The packaging is simple yet on brand and the products are definitely aspirational. I had been going back and forth over the Cream and Powder Eye Colors vs. the Cream Color for Eyes and finally decided on the Cream Color for Eyes in Burnished Copper.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!This is a quickie review on the Sonia Kashuk Makeup Brush Solid Bar Soap Cleanser.I got this brush soap after Target rebranded Sonia Kashuk, got rid of their makeup products, and refocused on makeup brushes and accessories. Sonia Kashuk left her brand and sold it in October 2015 but it still felt like a big shift to see some of her great makeup products and original brushes go.In my mind, I figured that a brush focused brand would have a great brush soap. This is a brush soap that contains goat's milk, olive oil, coconut oil and has a rosewater scent. It also contains a small scrubby pad to help you clean your brush. It sounded so good on paper but how did it actually fare in practice?

Details/Where to Purchase: The brush soap contains 1.5 oz for $9.00. You can get these at Target stores and Target.com

Packaging: The soap comes in a black plastic jar with a scrubbing pad included. You can stick the pad in your sink to help clean your brushes.

Review:Sonia Kashuk says: "This Sonia Kashuk Brush Cleansing Solid Bar Soap is the ultimate brush refresher with mess free results. Maintains the shape and beauty of any type of brush while removing makeup buildup. Leaves brushes clean and freshly scented."I don't find it very effective in cleaning my makeup brushes. I have to go back and do a second pass with the soap even when it comes to cleaning powder off of my eyeshadow brushes. I can understand it taking two tries to clean creams or liquid foundation from my dense synthetic brushes but not for something like powders off of my small eyeshadow brushes. Even using my hand soap has been more effective on my brushes. I'm not into working harder to get the job done compared to using something like a liquid brush cleaner.Conclusion:If you're in your local Target or online, I'd pass when it comes to buying this as a brush cleanser. There are lots of better alternatives out there (might I suggest the Benjabelle Organic Brush Shampoo? I'm not too fond of the scent but it's an effective cleanser).

What are you currently using to clean your makeup brushes?

Disclaimer: I purchased this brush soap myself. All opinions are my own. There are affiliate links in this post which provide me with a commission based off your use of the link when making a purchase.

I Purchased ThisHey everyone!Today I have a review on some indie cream eyeshadows, Darling Girl's Wonder Wand Cream Eyeshadows in Dragon's Sickness and Honey Cake. It's been a long while since I've reviewed anything from indie cosmetics brands, especially since I used to blog about them a lot years ago. I'm a little out of the loop when it comes to indie cosmetics but I hope to get back into them and share some of the great handcrafted products from brands like Darling Girl.

I'm a lover of cream eyeshadows so I figured these cream eyeshadows would be a good place for me to start. Click though to read my review, see swatches, and photos!

Affiliate LinksHey everyone!I feel like everyday we're hearing about more and more beauty products being released/launched by brands and it can get so overwhelming. I wanted to condense it down a bit and talk about a few newish makeup products that I want to get myself and a few makeup launches that I'm eh about. I guess the latter half of this post can serve as like an "anti-haul", though I don't promise that I might not try the products out later.Keep reading to see which products I think might be worth buying and ones I am thinking about skipping.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I'm reviewing the Nudestix Boho Babe Palette. This is a set with six pencils across four different product lines. The set containsone Gel Color Lip and Cheek Balm in Tay Tay, three Magnetic Luminous Eye Colors in Angel, Burnish, and Nudity, one Magnetic Matte Eye Color in Fig, and one Magnetic Matte Lip Color in Boho. If you're not familiar, Nudestix is a line based on makeup crayons/pencils that come in a travel-friendly tin + sharpener. You can buy the pencils individually or in curated sets/palettes. Currently, you're not able to buy just the pencils themselves so you might end up collecting a lot of extra tins. I find that their palettes/sets are the most cost effective way to buy from the brand. They have many curated sets where you get six pencils for the price of about two and a half pencils.

I'll be reviewing each formula in the post and talk about which product I liked and which products were misses (because not everything will work out for everyone).

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review and swatches of two more Stila Shimmer and Glow Liquid Eyeshadows. I already reviewed the shade Grace on the blog and wanted to share my thoughts on two other shades I got, Cloud and Kitten. Cloud especially stuck out because of the beautiful duochrome lavender and gold shift.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Continuing on the Colourpop train, I have a review, swatches, and photos of the Colourpop Hi Shine Ultra Glossy Lips. This launch is their expansion of their original Ultra Glossy Lips line with a new formula promising an ultra shiny finish with jojoba oil to add moisture. These new Ultra Glossy Lips come in three finishes, Pearlescent, Prismatic, and Tinted. This is in addition to the existing Creme, Metallic, and Sheer finishes.

I think we are going to be seeing the resurgence/renaissance of lipgloss because there have been a few brands who have released new lip glosses in the past few weeks. I wasn't very interested in their first launch of the Ultra Glossy Lips because I was riding the "liquid lipstick" train and the idea of a gloss wasn't appealing then. After seeing the new colors and especially given the prices, I decided to get a few.

I think you've been seeing how often I've been mentioning Colourpop on the blog and I swear, Colourpop could sell me on anything at this point. It's way too easy to justify buying from them when everything is between $4.00-$8.00 and I usually get my order in two days (since I'm in Southern California).Click through to read my review and see swatches of each color!

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review, photos, and swatches of six Colourpop Lux Lipsticks, three of the Creme Lux Lipsticks from the original launch four months ago and three of the new Matte Lux Lipsticks that launched recently. I had been thinking about getting the lipsticks when they first launched but never got around to it until the Matte Lux Lipsticks launched and they were doing a buy two get one free promotion. I ended up getting six lipsticks for the price of three! These are quite inexpensive and in line with Colourpop's usual pricing, $7.00 each.

The three Creme Lux Lipsticks are Lay Over, Pinkies Up, and Tip Toe. The three Matte Lux Lipsticks are Big Break, Little League, and Name Drop.The hype is real with these lipsticks. Click through to read the rest of my thoughts between the two formulas, see photos, and full face and lip swatches of the lipsticks.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review of the Maybelline TattooStudio Brow Tint Pen Makeup. The brow pendulum is swinging again and nowadays people are into brows that can look like they're real (which is why tattooed brows like microblading has become popular) over more "done" brows with pomade and concealer. This multi-pronged brow pen is supposed to be the answer to getting naturally filled in looking brows by giving off the effect of natural hair-like strokes.

Looking at this brow pen, I can't help but think of those three pronged eyeliner pens that were supposed to make eyeliner easier for beginners but ended up being more trouble than it was worth. The question is, is this a dud like its three pronged predecessor? Keep reading to hear my thoughts, see swatches, and whether I'd recommend it or not!

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I wanted to share my thoughts on the Foreo LUNA Play Plus Facial Cleansing Brush. I've talked about skincare before on the blog but this is the first mention of any sort of skincare device. I first heard about Foreo when they launched their LUNA cleansing brush, especially since it seemed like a great alternative to the Clarisonic facial cleansing brush (which was dominating the skincare device scene). The Foreo LUNA intrigued me because it didn't deal with a brush/bristles but with silicone points instead. Of course, the price was too much for me to afford on a graduate student budget so I admired from afar. Later on they launched the LUNA Play, a mini version of the full size but I was not interested in a device that only had 100 uses for $39.00. Finally, they launched their Luna Play Plus which is a miniaturized version of their full size LUNA cleansing brushes and a better version of the LUNA Play. Combine it with the ULTA 20% off sale and I picked up the Luna Play Plus.

Click through to read my thoughts and whether this facial cleansing brush is right for you!

I Purchased ThisReferral LinkHey everyone!Today I have a review of the Glossier Lash Slick Mascara, their first mascara launch. Like with all Glossier products, there was a ton of hype behind the product and I was so intrigued by the marketing.On their instagram, they were saying that this mascara "has been tested and proven to last and hold curl for twelve hours". If you're East/South East Asian like me, you've probably been blessed with super straight lashes that point downwards. If I do wear mascara, it has to be waterproof because waterproof mascaras are usually the only ones that will keep the curl in my eyelashes. Given how Lash slick was described as being water-resistant but still keeping the curl, I was down to try it.

The question is...did it live up to the marketing? Click through to read my review of the Lash Slick mascara on my straight Asian lashes, see before and after photos, and whether I'd repurchase it or not.

I Purchased ThisPress SampleHey everyone!I just wanted to share a silvery makeup look I did using the Viseart Paris Nudes palette. Naming eye/face looks is a little difficult for me so I'm borrowing an idea from Viola at Killer Colours and titling each look after an eyeshadow I used.

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I have a review of the Colourpop Super Shock Highlighter in Lunch Money. I've been on a real kick talking about Colourpop but it's an incredibly affordable brand that's been so trendy lately while still churning out some great releases so it's no surprise they're one I've been loving. Colourpop launched in ULTA stores a few months ago and I took the opportunity to try out more of their products in person. The Super Shock Highlighters are not new and have been part of the range for months but I think highlighters can be so finicky so I tried it in person first.The Super Shock Highlighter has the same creamy wet-feeling formula as their Super Shock Shadows. It's almost like putty, it's movable and fun to play with. I was super curious to see how it applied and looked on the skin.

I loved that Patrickstarrr did two versions with color while also balancing brightness. The Me So Chic Kit has purples in the quad with pinks and peaches in the lip and face products to contrast. The Me So Fleek Kit has brighter pink, purple, and blue together and I think you would be able to find one collection to suit your style. Each limited edition kit comes with a full sized Eyeshadow Quad, Lipstick, Lipglass, and Powder Blush Duo. Click through to read my thoughts, see swatches, and a look using the kit

I Purchased ThisHey everyone!Today I have a review of three different Makeup Geek lip products, one of the Iconic Lipsticks in Shy, one of the Plush Mattes in Marriage Material, and one of the Plush Cremes in Old Soul. Makeup Geek came out with their lip products ages ago and there was a lot of hype for them because they were frequently previewed before their launch on social media.

I decided to get two of the more neutral mauves during a sale and got one of the brighter colors in a set. I've had these lip products for several months now but it's taken me a while to write this post. The long and short of it is, these are just so-so. Continue reading for my thoughts and also swatches of the colors and why I feel this way.

Hey everyone!Today I have another Colourpop vs. ___ comparison, this time swatching, reviewing, and comparing the Colourpop Ultra Blotted Lips in Doozy, Party Wave, Slide, and Zuma vs. Stila Stay All Day Sheer Liquid Lipsticks in Sheer Ballerina. These are both liquid lipsticks touting a sheerer/lighter coverage finish in contrast to the typically opaque finish to liquid lipsticks.From top to bottom: Colourpop Doozy, Party Wave, Slide, Zuma, and Stila Sheer Ballerina

The Colourpop Ultra Blotted Lips came out first, launching in 2016 while the Stila Stay All Day Sheer Liquid Lipstick launched in 2017. I can't think of any brands doing a sheer liquid lipstick before the Colourpop Ultra Blotted Lips, I feel like they were the first (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).If you're wondering what the difference between a liquid lipstick and a lip stain are, here's a quick comparison

Liquid Lipstick: Usually hydrocarbon based (like isododecane), adds a layer onto your lips instead of coloring it, not intended to stain your lips (though some can stain it another color due to the pigments used)

I'm not usually a fan of lip stains because the water-based formula can be drying and I don't like having to try to scrub off the stain at the end of the day. I like the idea behind a sheer liquid lipstick, having the longevity without it looking so heavy like a typical liquid lipstick.

Click through to read my thoughts on both formulas, see swatches, and which I prefer!

I Purchased ThisAffiliate LinksHey everyone!Today I'm sharing a look I did using the Colourpop You Had Me At Hello Palette. I used to post a lot more makeup looks on the blog in between the reviews so I'm hoping for more this year. I also used the opportunity to try out a few new products (the foundation, highlighter, concealer, and lip).

Also, the Stila Shimmer and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow are perfect for halo eyes/adding metallic effect to the center of your lids.

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About Me

Welcome! My name is Mai. I am a Vietnamese Beauty Blogger located in Orange County/Los Angeles, CA. I feature reviews/swatches of cosmetics at all price points and post photos of my makeup looks. I hope you enjoy reading!